What’s an ACLS Instructor Course?

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The ACLS instructor course prepares individuals to teach the American Heart Association’s Advanced Cardiac Life Support course curriculum. Requirements include a thorough understanding of ACLS, experience working with ACLS, current CPR certification, and an ACLS provider card. The course teaches organization, structure, and learning strategies. After completion, individuals receive an ACLS Instructor Card and can teach at approved facilities using AHA-approved materials.

An ACLS instructor course is a class designed to prepare individuals to teach the American Heart Association’s Advanced Cardiac Life Support course curriculum, also known as ACLS. Prior to taking the instructor course, individuals are required to already have a detailed knowledge of ACLS, experience working with ACLS, current CPR certification, and also have a current ACLS provider card. The ACLS Instructor Course teaches students how to organize and structure their lessons, as well as teaching learning strategies to better reach their students.

Before enrolling in an ACLS instructor course, a few requirements must be met first. To be successful in teaching the ACLS curriculum, a student must first have a thorough understanding of all ACLS concepts and principles. Direct work experience with ACLS is also a prerequisite. During the ACLS instructor course, students will be required to demonstrate a certain level of experience in emergency cardiac patient care. Applicants must also demonstrate that they are CPR certified and have an active ACLS provider card in order for their application to be considered.

The curriculum required for the entire ACLS Instructor program varies across different institutions, some requiring only one course and others requiring multiple courses. The average course lasts between two and four hours and is usually one-off, occurring only over one day. In addition to course requirements, students are expected to complete a specified number of teaching hours before being certified to teach on their own. Most programs require a student to help teach two ACLS courses with a certified instructor in order to meet this requirement. The medium program will check student skills and knowledge of ACLS, teach methods of instruction and testing, teach basics of the American Heart Association Emergency Cardiovascular Assistance program, and teach advanced methods of cardiac life support.

After a student successfully completes the ACLS Instructor Program requirements, he or she will receive an American Heart Association ACLS Instructor Card. With this card, he or she will be able to teach ACLS courses at approved educational facilities. While teaching formats vary depending on the needs of a specific student population, all ACLS instructors must use only American Heart Association-approved videos and other educational materials when teaching students. Failure to comply with this protocol may result in cancellation and possibly revocation of the instructor’s card.




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